Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship nurtures future doctors

Tuesday, May 07, 2013 16:13

Whenever economy slows down, contributions towards scholarships become even more meaningful, as more students are in need of financial assistance, said Robert Kruit, chief operating officer at Zuellig Pharma Vietnam, the main benefactor of the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Fund since 2003.

Robert Kruit, chief operating officer at Zuellig Pharma Vietnam

In an interview with Saigon Giai Phong recently, Kruit affirmed that Zuellig Pharma Vietnam will definitely continue to partner and support the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Fund.

How has Zuellig Pharma been aware of Nguyen Van Huong scholarship?

Zuellig Pharma entered Vietnam in 1994 and we started construction of our warehouses in 1999. Zuellig Pharma believes it should always foster strong relationships with and contribute to the society we operate in.

During 2003 we met the SGGP Board of Editors, who introduced us to the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship. We immediately realized this was a great opportunity to further the development of the healthcare sector in Vietnam. Ever since, Zuellig Pharma has contributed to the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship.

The Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship is aimed at providing financial assistance to students in medical universities and medical intermediate institutes. Each of these students that graduate with help of the Scholarship will contribute to the healthcare sector and to the health of Vietnamese citizens for decades to come.

We are proud to contribute to society in such a structural and long-term manner, and realize that the benefits of this contribution are two-fold. Firstly it contributes to the education and the future potential of the students and secondly, it results in improved health outcomes for many Vietnamese that are subsequently treated by the students once they graduate.

How has Zuellig Pharma continued to be with Nguyen Van Huong scholarship? What do you think after 10 years the company continues supporting this meaningful charitable event?

Zuellig Pharma has been a constant companion and the oldest partner of the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Fund. The Fund Management Committee runs the Scholarship in a transparent way and provides necessary financial aid to thousands of deserving students.

For Zuellig Pharma, we consider it our obligation to contribute to the community and see the Scholarship as the perfect partner to join forces with. Our business culture teaches us to measure our success based on the overall communal impact.

Currently, the economic situation in Vietnam and in the world is more volatile, will that affect the participation of Zuellig Pharma to the scholarship fund rising?

When the economy slows down, contribution to such a Scholarship becomes even more important, as one may expect more students to be in need of financial help.

I see the Vietnam economy as strong and fast-growing, with the demand for healthcare services and healthcare professionals increasing day by day. Therefore, Zuellig Pharma will definitely continue to partner with the Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Fund.

According to you, what we need to do for a better scholarship fund growth?

The Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Fund started with just 40 million VND at the beginning and it has steadily grown over the years to reach 1.5 billion VND as of 2012. For a better growth, we need to call for more supports from other companies, enterprises and individuals.

As being one of the reputable newspapers with huge circulation in the country, we believe that SGGP media agency can promote Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship on newspapers and online to attract the interest and support of all members of the community.

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